After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
